Alone Together
by coffeeaddict91
Summary: Nico feels alone, and feels that no one could possibly understand him. He is ashamed of his feelings, both old and new, and refuses to face them. Leo feels alone, and feels that he, as the seventh wheel, is unimportant, and that he will never find love. Will they be proven right, or will the two loners on the Argo II find hope in one another? Rated T to be safe. MxM Valdangelo
1. Nico DiAngelo

**_Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Rick Riordan, or the Percy Jackson / Heroes of Olympus series. I make no profit from this._**

Nico stood staring out over the dark waves, the cold rain on his face and arms making chills run down his spine. But he couldn't bring himself to go back inside. Back to the sadness enveloping the others since They had fallen. He couldn't put himself through that. Rain or no rain, he would stay outside.

Just last week, he had believed he would die. He believed that the giants would leave him there until his breath gave out, and that the others would not come for him. The dream he had while in the death trance had told him as much.

 _"Don't get me wrong, Hazel. It's just that your brother, Nico… he knew about both camps, right."_

 _"Well, yes." Hazel said_

 _"He's been going back and forth," Leo said, "and he didn't tell either side."_

 _Jason sat forward, his expression grim. "You're wondering if we can trust the guy. So am I."_

 _Hazel shot to her feet. "I don't believe this. He's my brother. He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don't want to help him?"_

The dream had been his worst nightmare, but he knew it was true. And it would not stop haunting him. And Leo and Jason were not alone in their doubts. The others didn't trust him, not even Him and Her, the ones who he had known the longest. Then again, he had betrayed Him in the past. And now He had fallen, chosen to accompany Her rather than leave her behind to face Tar... That Place alone. He wondered if anyone would have ever done that for him. He shivered again at the memory of wandering through that place.

Light suddenly spilled out on the deck below, framing the tall figure standing in the doorway of the dining room. Nico watched Jason Grace step out on the deck, saw him scan the deck and look upward toward Nico. Nico shrank into the shadow of the mast, knowing that the rain would most likely drive Grace back inside. Coach Hedge and Valdez were on duty tonight, after all, and they always did so from the helm.

"DiAngelo, you out here?" Nico kept silent, certain that if he ignored Grace, the other would assume he had gone inside. "I know you're out here. I already checked the stables." Nico ducked further into the shadow, kneeling now to avoid being seen. He had no desire to talk to anyone. "Hazel is looking for you, too."

Nico sighed. Grace had picked the one thing that would convince him to come down. He stood, and stepped to the edge, sliding one leg to the top of the ladder. He climbed down slowly, shivers still raking through him. He tried to prevent them, but had difficulty doing so.

Shame filled him. He got through Tartarus alive, but a little rain and he was shaking. Pathetic.

His foot slipped on the last step, and he landed hard beside Jason, who reached out instantly to steady him. Nico pulled away. He didn't need Grace's help, and even if he did, he refused to take it. He would leave after helping the others reach Epirus. He didn't need anyone, much less the Son of Jupiter.

Nico started inside, but Jason got in the way. "Hazel went to bed already. I told her I would find you and convince you to go inside. Besides, I wanted to talk to you."

Nico glared at him.

"I didn't lie! She is worried." He paused. "We all are."

Nico scoffed. "You don't know me."

"Fair enough. You know… it wasn't your fault."

Nico glared at him, hate in his eyes.

Jason swallowed hard, but continued, refusing to be intimidated by someone so much smaller than him. "You're… you're a comrade now. And you were in New Rome long enough to know what that means."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Except that you trust your comrades, right?"

Jason's eyes widened for a second, and Nico used that opportunity to slip past the older boy. He pulled the door open just enough to slip through, leaving Jason Grace behind. He continued down the hall, leaving the light and warmth of the kitchen behind. He stayed in the shadows, edging his way through hallways and down stairs until he reached the stables.

They had offered to let him sleep in Percy's room, but he couldn't do it. Not when he knew the horrors he was facing right at this moment. Nico curled up on the floor of the stable and closed his eyes. Sleep claimed him instantly.


	2. Leo Valdez

**_Disclaimer : I don't own Percy and his friends. I make no profit from this story._**

Leo threw the screwdriver against the wall, cursing under his breath. The astrolabe wouldn't cooperate. Besides, he wasn't worried about the others hearing him; not that the rest of the group were worried about him. The engine room was soundproof, and the closest room was Annabeth's anyway. And she...

He couldn't believe Hazel, though she insisted he wasn't to blame. She was just trying to make him calm down. But he know it was all his fault. His and Nemesis', anyway. Why did he have to open that damn cookie? Sure, it had seemed the only option to save Hazel and Frank, but still. Now Percy and Annabeth were as good as dead. Or worse.

He felt a tear run down his cheek.

"¿Porque no puedo hacer nada bien?" *

Leo abandoned the stubborn astrolabe on the table and retrieved his screwdriver, placing it back into his tool belt where it belonged. He turned back, staring again at the sphere on the table.

"Ni siquiera puedo arreglar esto." *

He looked away, feeling the ever present tears threatening to fall again. He sighed, walking away from his work and dropping to his knees beside the warm engine. He curled into himself, allowing the tears to fall at last as the engine's gentle hum sang him to sleep.

* * *

I only speak limited Spanish, so please let me know if I make a mistake, and I will fix it. A big thanks to Kodamnation for the help with this!

*Why can't I do anything right?

*I can't even fix this.

I apologize for the huge delay in posting this. I will try to post more soon.


	3. Chapter 3

_Nico was running for his life, from what, he couldn't be sure. All he knew is if it caught him, he would be dead._

 _The acidic air of Tartarus burned his lungs, and the voices surrounded him mocked him._

 _'Just give in.'_

 _'You know you don't have a chance against me.'_

 _'You will die here, alone.'_

 _'He won't miss you.'_

 _Nico kept running and running, fast as he could, hearing the voices getting steadily louder. They were so close when..._

 _The ground below him was gone. He was falling, and falling, and falling. The river below him shimmered, the voices of forgotten souls calling out to him. Nico could do nothing to prevent his fall into the the River Cocytus below. Ten feet. Five feet. Two feet..._

* * *

Nico jolted out of his sleep with a shout, jumping to his feet, sword in hand, ready to attack... Leo Valdez, who was inspecting the left foot of the Athena Parthenos, behind which Nico was previously sleeping.

"Holy Hephaestus!" The Latino jumped back, tripping on the marble hem of the Parthenos' robe and narrowly avoiding hitting the ground. "Didn't see you there, DiAngelo." Leo grinned, leaning on Athena's sandled foot for support, making a show of catching his breath.

"What in my father's name are you doing down here?" Nico asked though gritted teeth, trying to appear unshaken after that brief moment of panic. No one needed to know about his recurring nightmares; the seven had much more important things to worry about. Including Valdez. Nico hoped the other wouldn't ask why he was so jumpy.

"I could ask you the same thing. You know, there's perfectly good guest bedrooms upstairs. They might not be customized like the rest, but much better than the floor."

"I was trying to be alone," Nico stated, eyes narrowing before looking away.

"Does Hazel know?"

Nico's eyes met Leo's again, his practiced icy glare making Valdez tense up slightly. "Know what, exactly?"

But apparently, Leo was either too crazy or too annoying to back down. Nico couldn't decide which.

"That you're having nightmares."

Nico flinched minutely, just a flicker, really, but enough for Leo to notice.

"I don't..."

"We all get them, you know. I overheard Jason telling Piper about it once. And your sister telling Frank. And Percy..." Leo broke off as Nico swallowed hard. An uncharacteristic look of frustration appeared on the Latino's face. "You're sure about what you said before? That they're still alive down there?" The question was clearly still on Leo's mind, even after his and Hazel's confirmation of the answer. Leo's voice was low, as if speaking normally would make Nico's answer change.

"They're alive."

Leo nodded, returning his attention to the giant toes off the Parthenos in front of him. He ran his hands over the marble, head bowed and mumbling to himself quietly, the frown still on his face.

Nico figured that this was Leo's way of changing the subject, so he stepped around Leo, headed for the stairs to the rest of the ship. He was unsure of what else to say anyway.

He didn't notice Leo's eyes following him up the stairs and into the shadow of landing above.


End file.
